Abstract
Due to fewer historical records, it is generally believed that famines and epidemics were less frequent in ancient India. However, various records depict that ancient India was not immune to these natural catastrophes, and they proved disastrous on some occasions; furthermore, certain other factors also depict the high presence of famines and epidemics. This article aims to identify the factors responsible for frequent and disastrous famines and epidemics in ancient India, such as deforestation, urbanization, invasions, etc, their impacts, and the role of rulers in giving way to these catastrophes and how they responded to them. The findings of the study are based on qualitative research, and it is an analytical work based on secondary sources. The factors such as urbanization, deforestation, trade, migration, wars, and poor living conditions depict that ancient India was no different from medieval and colonial India when it comes to instances of these natural catastrophes.